Reviews by yamar68:

More User Reviews:

Nice to see Flying Fish down here in NC,I used to drnk alot of their stuff back in my Philly days.Poured into a goblet a hazed peach color with a nice fluffy bone white crown that left two nice rings of lace as it settled very slowly into a frothy mass.Spicey phenols and citrus fruit mainly in the nose,the phenols really hit hard.Pretty sharp in the mouth at first,it does mellow after a bit but it takes awhile,phenolic spice,white pepper,and a healthy dose of citric hop on the palate,the phenols seem to take over to much of the profile for me after mid glass.Eh,its ok but the phenols are just to big for me to enjoy very much.

S - Smell was a strong citrus with apparent orange, lemon, apricot, and spice -- the alcohol was definitely coming through also!

T - I was not impressed with the taste -- this beer was not too balanced imho. The citrus taste hits you right up front, followed by a strong taste of the alcohol -- I was most disappointed that the alcohol was not well masked.

M - Mouthfeel was a little abrasive -- not very smooth. Again, I did not feel this beer was very well balanced.

D - Drinkability was low -- I choked down my pint glass. I have to be fair though and say that as the beer warmed up, I began to enjoy it slightly more. I've had Exit 11 prior to Exit 4 and I was much, much more impressed with Exit 11!

A- Looks like a nice tripel, golden with a hint of copper. A 1 inch white head sits on top and fades slowly, leaving good lacing.

S- Huh, a lot going on. Very cidery with some alcohol coming through and american hops. A little like someone mixed a hard cider with an IPA, not very enjoyable but the belgian yeast notes of pear and apricot bring it a little bit back, still kind of weird.

T- Similar to the smell but without the alcohol being noticeable and the fruity yeast character going more in the direction of pear than apple. The flavors are all bold and in a lot of different directions (fruity yeast, sweet lager like malt and citrusy american hops). Overall it doesn't taste bad but it seems like some of the flavors are unnecessary. Were it a little more bitter it would be a cidery belgian IPA, but as is it's just a strange take on a tripel.

M- Feels right, lots of good carbonation with a fairly thin but perky sip.

D- For how strong in ABV this beer is it certainly is drinkable, that said the flavors never came together in the way I would've liked and the belgian yeast notes were not quite where they should have been. A nice try but not something I would buy again.

Large bottle capped and red foil over the top. No freshness info. Pours medium amber with an apricot hue. The head is off white, appropriatly huge initially, decent retention showed then spotted lace left behind. Fruity candy sugar sweet nose. Got to respect em for swinging for the fences with a take on this outstanding style, but this one does not make it out of the middle of the road. Some phenolic tendencies, but not enough, some hoppy feel but not enough. All in all a decent tasting brew, but ends up being a lower level American tripel, compared to the all stars of the style.

Pours a slightly hazy golden color with a one-finger white head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of sweet light malts with large amounts of light fruits - bananas and tropical. Also present are slight amounts of honey and even slighter amounts of herbal hops.

Tastes similar to how it smells though not quite as complex. Crisp and light malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by bright tropical fruits. Midway through the sip hints of banana and orange peel flavors work their way into things and the flavor profile sweetens with the addition of honey. Finally, slight amounts of earthy hop flavors come into play before fading out into a mildly bitter ending.

A: Dark gold (it looks like dark honey in a jar) with a very thin head; though, it does leave decent lacing, and it has steady carbonation.

S: Surprisingly, hops dominate the aroma. Citrus and pine stand out. There is some malt and clove in the background.

T: Deep sweet malt with large bread flavors dominate the starting flavors. Some clove and fruit meet in the middle. The finish is a lot of spice and bitterness from the hops. There is also warmth from the alcohol.

M: Very light for a Tripel.

O: This is a bit of a disappointment as a Tripel. I have enjoyed other things Flying Fish has brewed, but this beer does not have near the quality of other Tripels I have had. It is very dark (darker than most Tripels I have had that are brewed with Belgium candied sugar). The aroma and the flavor is not as complex as other Tripels, and the beer is not as heavy as it should be (I am not saying it needs to be syrup, but it should have some larger body).

Poured from a bottle to a glass. It was bubbly, moderate head. Golden and slight cloudy. Hazy as the bottle describes it. Slight floral undertone, but can taste/smell clove like its an Easter ham. Slightly bitter at the finish. Not too overpowering for the 9.7% abv.

Poured from a 750 ml into two separate tulip-style chalices (one for me and one for my wife). A very nice looking beer of a copper color that bubbles up with a frothy head and leaves you with a healthy lacing. Carbonation seems moderate and I noted quite a bit of sediment - obviously heavy as it settled immediately - on the bottom of my glass.

From here on this beer is very deceiving. The side panel of the label gives the impression of a Belgian style brew yet at first whiff hops evade my nostrils. Perhaps the front of the label can explain this as it is clearly denoted this is an "American Trippel". Ok, fine - it's a take on a Belgian style, and obviously hops are a big part of American craft brewing. This beer is really more of a "Belgian IPA" and I'll try to review it as such (otherwise it would have been scored much lower).

The taste is more of the same, hops. I was hoping for some Belgian attributes to shine through, but they really weren't there for me as the bitterness knocks out these other elements like Chuck Norris's roundhouse. However that seems to be the ticket for a Belgian IPA - so I suppose we can call it average. A bit on the dry side with earthy yeast on the back end. The mouthful warms with spicy alcohol biting the tongue, I wished for more.

As someone who enjoys hops, I'm going to be more forgiving on the drinkability. It's a good drink, just very elusive in its labeling. Where is that % abv anyway?